8/24/98 Marcus Amphitheater, Milwaukee, WI
Deep Purple did the revised setlist opening with "Ted the Mechanic" and the crowd here were all on their feet immediately! Everyone was enjoying the music despite the hot, muggy, storm-threatening weather. In fact Ian Gillan commented on the skies (during flashes of lightning) as he introduced "Watching the Sky". Ian sounded and looked good despite his throat problem, although he opted to not come to the aftershow DP lounge as he was feeling not up to par by then. Ian and Steve were were so audience friendly on stage which was great to see. Steve was a wonder to behold on guitar! Jon, Roger, and Ian P. were great too! My favorite tunes were "Smoke on the Water", "Perfect Strangers", "Highway Star", and Steve's and Jon's solos. We noticed lots of pot smokers around us in row 6, so it was just like the good old days of concert going all over again.
Thanks to Colin Hart and Roger Glover I had backstage passes waiting for me at the box office (had to show photo ID and sign for them). We walked around and checked out things before, during, and after the show... looked around the stage, the dressing rooms before the bands got there, said hi to Dream Theater at the elevator after their part, got told being on DP's guest list didn't mean we were on ELP's guest list so we couldn't meet them, got to meet Roger and Steve in the DP aftershow lounge with complimentary Perrier, Corona, and Heineken. Roger was great at conversation and seemed genuinely glad to meet me...many thanks for making me feel very at ease! I even got a kiss on the cheek goodbye (a perk of my being female I guess). Steve Morse was fun to talk to too and very fan-friendly as well!
Best part of Dream Theater's set was "Peruvian Skies" and I smiled happily at their quotes of Pink Floyd and Metallica. ELP seemed somewhat rushed by their set length...but they are great at each of their own particular talents. I do however wish that we could have heard the excerpt from Keith Emerson's Piano Concerto on a "real" grand piano like in the '70s. For ELP's encore, they all came out in Green Bay Packers T-shirts...the crowd loved it!
Rain deluge on the way back to the parking lot and the hour drive home, but it is was well worth the trip!! Just hope the photos turn out...
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